Jennifer Lawrence Laughs At Criticism Of Her Body In Hunger Games; So Do We

Jennifer Lawrence has been consistently smart and grounded about her body and weight in interviews leading up to The Hunger Games. Now that the movie is out—and many critics have claimed that she’s “too fat” to play Katniss—we’re relieved to see she’s staying on message. According to new reports, the actress has laughed off criticisms of her weight and pointed out the double-standards in Hollywood.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, the actress told a friend: ‘First, people say how so many actresses in Hollywood look anorexic, and now they are criticising me for looking normal.

She went on to say that super thin body images ‘are too often adopted by young girls and women – thanks to what they are constantly being shown as being attractive.’

Critics have pointed out that the book portrays her character as starving (and thin), while Lawrence looks decidedly healthy (especially next to many actresses in Hollywood). Of course, Hollywood often features female characters would, realistically, look nothing like the women who play them, but outside of how inconsistent the criticism of Lawrence is with the rest of Hollywood, I think one of the strongest defenses has nothing to do with her body. As Autumn Whitefield-Madranopointed out at Salon, choosing her for the role (and not requesting that she go on a crash diet to fit her body to the part) was a smart choice not only because it sets a healthier example for audiences; but also because it emphasizes that her acting—not her body—is what makes her right for the role.

If Katniss Everdeen was a real person, there’s no way that she would’ve been able to run around in the woods on a daily basis, hunting food and climbing trees, etc. if she was regularly starving to the point of being totally emaciated-looking. Jennifer Lawrence IS thin by normal (read “non-Hollywood”) standards, as are all of the people from the outlying Districts in the film because they don’t have a surplus of food available to them. I found Jennifer’s slim and somewhat-athletic build to be pretty plausible considering what she was able to physically accomplish.

Andrea

The more I hear stuff like this, the more I really dig Jennifer Lawrence.

The book doesn’t say Katniss is starving. They say she was starving FIVE YEARS AGO when her dad died. Now she catches 20 rabbits a day and even sneaks in some goat cheese on the side. The Hollywood waifs are NOT eating goat cheese. If you’re going for authenticity, can you actually make sure you read the books to begin with? Fat-shaming a size 2 actress who is probably a realistic portrayal of Katniss’s physique, furious when a “dark skinned” role is actually cast with a black actress… what’s next? The movie’s about kids killing other kids for sport – I would think we’d have better things to pick on.

Jolene

I think that these people calling her “Fat” really need to re-examine. This woman is beautiful!! She’s NOT fat, and she’s not anorexic!! She’s an awesome actress, and should be applauded for the job well done with this movie!! Amazing movie, for sure, and the casting was perfect!

Julia

Kudos to Jennifer Lawrence for pointing out the hypocrisy. And I personally think that she’s a terrific actor and embodied the spirit of Katniss with a nuance that are usually absent in young actors. And I think it’s important to point out that at one point in the book, Katniss mentions how she looks much healthier and well-fed in comparison to some of the other tributes because she was able to hunt and feed herself. So, no, Katniss was never supposed to look emaciated at all. Those critics just have poor reading comprehension and projected their own internalized double standard onto the book and movie adaptation.